McGovern he has been a Representative since January 3, 1997. He was born on November 20, 1959 in Worcester, Massachusetts, earned a Masters of Public Administration at American University in Washington, D. C., and was a staff member for Senator George McGovern of South Dakota (to whom he is not related) and for Representative Joe Moakley.He is married to Lisa Murray McGovern. The McGoverns have a son, Patrick and a daughter, Molly.[1]

Congress

Currently serving his ninth term in Congress, McGovern is the Vice Chairman of the powerful House Rules Committee, which sets the terms for debate and amendments on most legislation, and a member of the House Budget Committee. In those roles, McGovern has secured millions of dollars in federal assistance for Central and Southeastern Massachusetts. McGovern is also co-chair of both the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission and the House Hunger Caucus.[2]

Supported by Council for a Livable World

The Council for a Livable World, founded in 1962 by long-time socialist activist and alleged Soviet agent, Leo Szilard, is a non-profit advocacy organization that seeks to "reduce the danger of nuclear weapons and increase national security", primarily through supporting progressive, congressional candidates who support their policies. The Council supported Jim McGovern in his successful House of Representatives run as candidate for Massachusetts.[3]

The Council also supported McGovern in his 2010 Congressional election campaign.[4]

2010 endorsement

When endorsing McGovern in 2010, the Council praised McGovern's work as a congressional aide, in getting U.S aid cut to anti-communist forces in El Salvador, and his opposition to the wars in Iraq, and Afghanistan;

As a congressional aide, McGovern earned recognition for his tireless efforts to end U.S. support for oppressive right-wing regimes in Central America. In 1989, McGovern was the lead investigator on the investigation into the murders of 6 Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter in 1989. The investigation ultimately led to a cut off in U.S. aid when the Salvadoran military was implicated in the murders.

McGovern was a vocal opponent of the invasion of Iraq and a leader in attempts to bring U.S. troops home. In February 2007, he sponsored legislation to withdraw troops from Iraq on a 6-month timeline. It was the toughest anti-war legislation to reach the House floor, where it was defeated by a surprisingly narrow 74-vote margin.

McGovern has been a leading critic of the escalation of American troops in Afghanistan. He is a sponsor of bipartisan legislation calling for a flexible timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops.[6]

Jerome Grossman was Hughes' Campaign Manager and Chester Hartman was the organizer of the massive signature drive required to place Hughes on the ballot. According to Grossman;[8]

Hughes needed 72,000 signatures, a purposely prohibitive number in that era of McCarthyism and nobody in fact had tried to reach it since the law had first been passed.

In this talented field, Hughes polled 50,013 votes, 2.3% of the votes cast. However, we collected a startling 149,000 signatures in ten weeks for a "peace candidate." The Cuban Missile Crisis arrived in October just before the election. With the integrity that was his hallmark, Hughes went against the popular hysteria: he accused President Kennedy of acting over hastily in imposing the blockade of Cuba, of bypassing the United Nations, and unnecessarily stirring up an atmosphere of national emergency. His position cost Hughes thousands of votes.

"Progressive resurgence"

Three years of hard work for the Working Family Agenda coalition (which includes DSA) came to a head in this year’s election. In February we found a progressive candidate, Jim Leary, to take on Bill McManus, the worst of Worcester’s conservative State Reps. McManus, who had the worst voting record of any Democrat in the State House, served in the leadership team of House Speaker Finneran, and was a supporter of Republican Governor Cellucci, knew we could beat him in a primary, so he switched from Democrat to Independent to garner the Republican and centrist votes of a presidential election while holding on to his Democratic hacks.

So Neighbor to Neighbor, the AFL-CIO, the Teachers Association, and the Commonwealth Coalition fielded an army. For the primary we had a voter universe of 6000 likely voters, who we contacted three times each (at their door, by phone, and by mail). Our July poll showed the opponent ahead of us by 14 points, mostly due to name recognition. On primary day, September 19th, we beat him 62 to 38%!

For the general election we had a voter universe of 16,000 presidential voters. Again we contacted them all three times before the election, and all our ID’d voters six times between Saturday and election day (over 150 people worked for Leary on election day). At 8:30 p.m., precinct captains began calling in results, and we won 71 to 29%—possibly the largest margin of victory against a leadership incumbent in the state’s history!

The progressive resurgence in Worcester began with the victory of Congressman Jim McGovern in 1996, and seems to be building to a progressive bid for Mayor in 2001. Not a bad five-year plan..!

These three forces were present in almost equal measure in Northeast Worcester: Great Brook Valley and Lincoln Village housing projects (2500 voters), the unions (2500 members), and the progressive middleclass Irish-American community (that produced candidates like Jim McGovern and Jim Leary). Together a coalition like this is unstoppable, and it shows that the Working Family Agenda strategy can become the majoritarian movement we need to win progressive power.

Clinton/Pinochet letter

On October 21, 1998, many Members of Congress wrote a letter to President Bill Clinton, urging him to release information to a Spanish judge investigating former Chilean President Pinochet for alleged crimes committed during and after the overthrow of the Marxist Allende government.

Dear Mr. President:

The October 17 arrest of General Augusto Pinochet in London is a good example of how the goals you outlined in your anti-terrorism speech at the United Nations can be put into practice. Indeed, when the rule oflaw is applied to combat international lawlessness,humanity's agenda gains...we call upon you to ensure that the U.S. government provides Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon material related to Pinochet's role in international terrorism -- material and testimony that the U.S. government has thus far withheld.

Supporting Lori Berenson

Several US lawmakers even have rallied to the causes of American terrorists and terrorist collaborators arrested and imprisoned abroad. Lori Berenson, a member of the Marxist-Leninist Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) in Peru, was convicted and imprisoned in harsh conditions under the country's strict antiterrorist laws.

Her congresswoman from home, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), has interceded on her behalf; so have Reps. James Leach (R-Iowa) and Jim McGovern (D-Mass.). McGovern has allied himself with violent revolutionary movements since the 1980s, when he was a staffer for the late Rep. Joe Moakley (D-Mass.). He has helped the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) in El Salvador, facilitating the shipment of material aid and American volunteers for the Cuban-backed group's rural civic-action efforts, according to documents and letters he signed in the 1980s that Insight has obtained. [15]

Communist inspired letter to defund Colombian military

Sam Farr had been a Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia, and was contacted by the communist dominated Colombia Support Network in 1997. Efforts by Colombia Support Network were instrumental in getting a letter sent to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, with the 19 other members signing on. The January 30, 1998 letter called for the continued suspension of funding to the Colombian military then engaged in a bloody civil war against communist guerillas.

Dear Secretary Albright :

We are writing to express our concern with the worsening human rights situation in Colombia and urge you to take steps to address this matter.

News reports and first-hand accounts indicate that violence in Colombia is escalating, particularly in the country's northern most regions and the southern coca growing regions. Many different groups and individuals have been implicated in the violence, but an increasing number of human rights abuses are being instigated by paramilitary groups --armed civilians who torture, evict, kidnap and murder Colombian civilians.

There is also evidence of links between paramilitaries and local drug lords, who rely on paramilitary groups to undertake violent activities on their behalf. The Peasant Self-Defense Group of Cordoba and Uraba, a paramilitary group lead by Carlos Castano, is considered one of the most powerful paramilitary groups in Colombia. Reports indicate that last yeqar Castano's group killed hundreds, if not more than a thousand, peasants it accused of helping rebels.

As concerned Members of Congress, we urge you to place the issue of human rights and the problem of paramilitary groups in the forefront of your priority list in your dealings with Colombia. We understand that aid to the Colombian army is currently on hold because of human rights concerns and urge you to continue to withhold funding.

"Andean Region Contractor Accountability Act"

April 25, 2001 Rep. Jan Schakowsky introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

To prohibit the United States Government from providing financing for nongovernmental organizations or individuals to carry out military, law enforcement, armed rescue, or other related operations in the countries of the Andean region, including any operations relating to narcotics control efforts.

This Act may be cited as the `Andean Region Contractor Accountability Act'.

In this Act, the term `countries of the Andean region' means the Republic of Bolivia, the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Republic of Ecuador, the Republic of Colombia, the Republic of Panama, the Republic of Peru, and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.[17]

Colombia Support Network letter

The letter called on President Pastrana to end a military blockade on the Colombian town of San Jose de Apartado, a sister community of Madison Wisconsin, where the Colombia Support Network is based.

We write to you to bring your attention to the humanitarian crisis facing the civilian population of the Peace Community San Jose de Apartadó and its outlying settlements.

We urge the appropriate authorities of your government to dismantle the paramilitary checkpoint on the road between San Jose and Apartadó, ensure the continued safety of the road, and fully investigate recent threats and attacks on the Peace Community.

The Peace Community San Jose de Apartadó and its settlements, including the village of La Union, receive the permanent accompaniment of international organizations.

These include Peace Brigades International (PBI), as well as the U.S. Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), which currently has two US citizens in La Union. We support the work of these two respected organizations as well as the Peace Community in its effort to build a non-violent alternative to the conflict.

Letter to Uribe urging dialog with FARC

In what has been regarded as a turning point in its policy of peace, President Alvaro Uribe agreed to talk with the guerrillas in a small town to find a solution to a humanitarian agreement to release hundreds of hostages in Colombia.

Since taking office on August 7, 2002, Uribe had emphatically warned not to allow the demilitarization of any point of the national territory, as this "would demoralize the troops who have waged a relentless war against armed groups" .

On July 26 2005, the government informed the rebels that is willing to talk with them "whenever and wherever they want, with security conditions that give them confidence, national or international support as they decide."

In the letter sent to the President the three lawmakers expressed concern that situations like the failed rescue in May 2003 the governor of Antioquia, Guillermo Gaviria and former Defense Minister Gilberto Echeverry, where the hostages lost their lives recurrence.

"While we understand that the temporary withdrawal of the military presence is not the best option, we believe remains superior to an attempted armed rescue that endangers the lives of the hostages," the letter says.

In the letter, however, they say the agreement congresitas must be accompanied by a commitment that FARC guerrillas released not return to conflict and remind the government of France offered to host the guerrillas freed in exchange. Indeed, three weeks an envoy of French President Jacques Chirac ago, he met "somewhere in Colombia," with "Raul Reyes", chief spokesman for the FARC, to advance negotiations to set free Betancourt, who also has gala nationality and whose cause has generated a worldwide crusade of solidarity with people who are hostage in the country. [20]

2006 letter to Condoleezza Rice on Colombia

Alleged Colombian Army killings prompted Fellowship of Reconciliation to work with Representative Sam Farr to forge a response that would impact the 17th Brigade, the unit allegedly responsible for the violence against San José de Apartadó and communities throughout northwestern Colombia.

As a result, Reps. Sam Farr and Jim McGovern, wrote a letter to their colleagues in Congress urging them to join in calling on Secretary Condoleezza Rice to cut funding for the Colombian military.

Letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice

(Deadline for Congressional representatives to sign: February 22)

We applaud the decision, noted in your certification letter of August 2005, that the US "will not consider providing assistance to the 17th Brigade until all significant human rights allegations involving the unit have been credibly addressed." Because the Brigade is a component of the Colombian Armed Forces' command structure and has been implicated in the above referenced human rights violations, we implore you to abide by both the letter of the law and the spirit of the law by withholding human rights certification for Colombia until the following conditions are met:[21]

FARC hostages

In March 2007, seven members of the U.S. Congress sent a letter endorsing three European governments' (France, Spain, Switzerland) proposal for a demilitarized zone, where eventual "humanitarian exchange" negotiations would take place to secure the release of Colombian guerilla FARC hostages. The representatives even offer to be present in the zone at key moments in order to guarantee the talks' success.

As you know, though, the FARC instead insists that negotiations for a "humanitarian exchange" of prisoners take place in a 480 square-kilometer zone in southwestern Colombia from which all military personnel have been removed. The Colombian government has been unwilling to pull security forces out of this zone, particularly if the FARC insists on its own forces carrying weapons.

The result has been stalemate, with both sides far from dialogue and the hostages far from winning release. This has gone on for too long. We agree with you that the status quo is unacceptable.

FARC hard drive

March , 2008, a hard drive recovered from the computer of a killed Colombian guerrilla offered more insights into the opposition of House Democrats to the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

A military strike March 1 killed Raul Reyes, No. 2 in command of the FARC, Colombia's most notorious terrorist group. The Reyes hard drive reveals an ardent effort to do business directly with the FARC by Congressman Jim McGovern, a leading opponent of the free-trade deal. Mr. McGovern has been working with an American go-between, who has been offering the rebels help in undermining Colombia's elected and popular government.

Mr. McGovern's press office says the Congressman is merely working at the behest of families whose relatives are held as FARC kidnap hostages. However, his go-between's letters reveal more than routine intervention. The intervenor with the FARC is James C. Jones, who the Congressman's office says is a "development expert and a former consultant to the United Nations." Accounts of Mr. Jones's exchanges with the FARC appeared in Colombia's Semana magazine on March 15.

"Receive my warm greetings, as always, from Washington," Jones began in a letter to the rebels last fall. "The big news is that I spoke for several hours with the Democratic Congressman James McGovern. In the meeting we had the opportunity to exchange some ideas that will be, I believe, of interest to the FARC-EP [popular army]."

Jones added that "a fundamental problem is that the FARC does not have, strategically, a spokesman that can communicate directly with persons of influence in my country like Mr. McGovern." Semana reports that in the documents Jones "rules himself out as the spokesman but offers himself as a 'bridge' of communication between the FARC and the congressman." Semana says when it spoke with Jones, he verified the letter and explained that "he made the offer because the guerrillas need interlocutors if they want to achieve peace and that it is a mistake to isolate them."

But communications among FARC rebels suggest the goal was to isolate Colombia's government. A letter that Reyes wrote to top FARC commander Manuel Marulanda on October 26 reads: "According to [Jones's] viewpoint, President Uribe is increasingly discredited in the U.S. . . He believes that the safe haven [for the rebels] in the counties can be had for reasons mentioned. Congressional Democrats have invited him to Washington to talk about the Colombian crisis in which the principal theme is the swap."

Semana reports that Mr. Jones made some proposals to the FARC, including a Caracas meeting with representatives of Venezuela, Colombia, the FARC, other South American countries, U.S. Congressmen and the Catholic Church. "It would be almost impossible for Uribe to reject such a meeting," Mr. Jones wrote, "without burning himself a lot, nationally and internationally. If he persists in being against it, I have understood that there are ways to pressure him from my country [the U.S.]."

In a letter to Semana, Jones said his words were taken out of context. He says he is not in favor of the "violent methods of the guerrilla" or "the military solutions" of the government. He had only a professional relationship with the FARC and had to address them as he did because he had to build trust. Mr. McGovern's office says it knew what Mr. Jones was doing and engaged with him because "we need to find an interlocutor who could discuss these things including the safe haven" for the guerrillas.

Clearly some Democrats oppose the Colombia trade deal because they sympathize more with FARC's terrorists than with a U.S. antiterror ally.[23]

2009 letter on Colombia

From November 6th through December 7th 2009, a letter calling for change in U.S. policy towards Colombia was circulated through the House of Representatives. This letter called for a decrease in U.S. aid for Colombia's military and an increase in support for human rights and humanitarian efforts. The initiators of this letter were —Representatives James McGovern, Jan Schakowsky, Donald Payne, and Mike Honda.[24]

Dear Secretary of State Clinton,

The FY 2011 budget will contain the twelfth year of a major aid package to Colombia—an aid package originally slated to phase out after six years.

After eleven years, it is time to scale down assistance for Colombia's military and more systematically "Colombianize" such programs, within both the State Department and Defense Department budgets.

Colombian "Peace" process

In an historic action, 245 politicians from the United States, United Kingdom and Ireland have expressed their collective support for the Colombian peace process in a letter to both sides in the current negotiations, the Government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - FARC. The politicians from the US Congress, UK Parliament, Irish Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly, many of whom supported the peace process in Northern Ireland and some of whom were directly involved, congratulate the two sides for having engaged in talks. In the letter, the signatories, from sixteen political parties, encourage the negotiating parties “to consider the possibility of a ceasefire and take the necessary measures to minimise the human cost of the conflict”, emphasising that for them “the only route to bring an effective and long-lasting peace to Colombia is through dialogue and compromise”. The letter expresses the hope that measures to guarantee the safety of civil society activists will be taken.

Cutting off military aid to Colombia

In November 2014, eight United States lawmakers sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry in which they say that ongoing Afro-Colombian rights abuses show that “Colombia is not in full compliance” with human rights policies required to receive US military aid.

In the letter, coordinated by House Representative Hank Johnson’s office and signed by seven other members of Congress, the US politicians expressed “grave concern” over the human rights situation in cities on the Pacific coast, where the majority of inhabitants are Afro-Colombians.

Sponsored Communist Party "Jobs Bill"

H.R. 950, the Job Creation and Infrastructure Restoration Act of 1997 was introduced in the 105th Congress on March 5, 1997 by Congressman Matthew Martinez of California. It had 33 original co-sponsors, including James McGovern. The primary purpose of this emergency federal jobs legislation was to provide much needed jobs at union wages to crisis ridden cities by putting the unemployed to work rebuilding our nation's infrastructure (schools, housing, hospitals, libraries, public transportation, highways, parks, environmental improvements, etc. $250 billion is authorized for emergency public works jobs over a five year period.

Congressman Martinez had previously introduced this bill in the last Congress (as HR 1591) at the the request of over 50 prominent Labor leaders who formed the Los Angeles Labor Coalition for Public Works Jobs, which is why it is often referred to as the "Martinez Public Works Jobs Bill."[27]

This is the most significant jobs legislation introduced in Congress since Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal established the Works Progress Administration (WPA). This bill is the WPA-type program for today. It has strong provisions which will put hundreds of thousands of unemployed building trades workers to work as well as provide jobs for victims of plant closures, welfare recipients who are parents, youth, and the long term unemployed. The public works projects which will be established under this bill will be built in communities with the highest levels of unemployment and with the greatest needs.

The goal of the New York Coalition for Public Works Jobs is to build the movement to pass the Martinez Jobs bill as part of the National Labor Coalition for Public Works Jobs. You can help by asking your union, community organization, or local government body to to join those who have already passed resolutions to endorse the bill. Such a resolution has been introduced in the New York City Council. Calling on additional Congressional Representatives to co-sponsor the bill is very important. We will be organizing petition campaigns, visits to elected officials, and demonstrations and other actions for a public works jobs program.

Dessima Williams recounted how as a young graduate student in the U.S. in 1979 she suddenly found herself appointed UN Ambassador from Grenada’s new revolutionary government...

Thanks to all who helped make this event a success, including Kathy Casavant of the AFL-CIO, Harris Gruman of Boston DSA, and civic activist Eleanor LeCain for their eloquent introductions of the awardees;...and Congressman Jim McGovern, who again sent his greetings.

The growing severity of this crisis brought together over 40 grassroots organizations for an impressive—and unusual—showing of political unity for health care reform based on extending Medicare to everyone.

“When we started organizing the hearing, only one member of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation had signed on. Now we have four out of the ten,” said Paul Cannon, President of
Teamsters Local 122 and co-chair of Jobs with Justice’s Health Care Action Committee. “We’ve got our work cut out for us. It’s time to step-up the pressure on our policymakers for comprehensive reforms that cover everyone.”[30]

Posada letter

In 2005 several far left Congressmembers wrote to President Bush urging him to extradite alleged terrorist Luis Posada Carriles to Venezuela to face justice.

We are writing to urge you to oppose the application for asylum by Luis Posada Carriles, and to support the request for extradition to Venezuela, where he is a fugitive from justice.

2016 Cuba visit

2017 Cuba visit

A delegation of four senators and one representative of the United States Congress traveled to Cuba on Sunday, exactly a month after the arrival of a new president to the White House. One of the senators is a strong ally of President Trump.

Republican Thad Cochran, from Mississippi, who has decisively endorsed Trump’s initial decisions in the Senate, is among the delegation. The legislators are led by one of the main proponents of normalized relations with Cuba, Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy (Vermont), notes the Cuban-US Economic and Trade Council.

The remaining members of the delegation are Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colorado) and Tom Udall (D-New Mexico), as well as Rep. Jim McGovern (D- Massachusetts).

Except for Cochran and Bennet, the remaining legislators have visited the island on previous occasions.

The program for their visit to Cuba was not disclosed. The group is scheduled to leave the island on Wednesday, February 22nd 2017.

Cochran, the only Republican in the group, is a co-sponsor in the Senate of a bill providing for the Expansion of Agricultural Exports to Cuba. The legislation would eliminate the prohibition of granting private credit to finance agricultural sales to the island and thus seek greater access by US farmers to the Cuban market.

“We have some problems,” Jim said. “For one thing when we argue for withdrawal the other side accuses us of abandoning the Iraqis to a bloodbath and the Middle East to chaos. We don’t have an answer for this. We don’t have a plan for withdrawal. We seem irresponsible. Worse, we are irresponsible.” “So what can be done about that?” we asked. “You guys can organize a conference of Middle East experts to make a responsible plan for withdrawal, one that focuses on the non-military issues that need to be addressed. Have it at Harvard so people will take it seriously. Publish a report. We’ll help you put on a big press event and I’ll dis-tribute it to Congress. We’ll make how to withdraw an issue that Congress and the public have to deal with.”

The trio then recruited 14 Middle East experts and charged them with answering this question;

The President has announced that a complete military withdrawl from Iraq will take place over the next 12 to 18 months. What concrete steps can the US government take, immediately and during withdrawal, to encourage peace and stability in Iraq?

Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs hosted the round table March 7 2008. Chris Toensing drafted the Report. "Quickly, Carefully, and Generously: The Necessary Steps for a Responsible Withdrawal from Iraq" was released at a call-in press conference June 25. That same day Representatives Jim McGovern, Bill Delahunt and John Tierney distributed the report to all members of the House and Senate accompanied by a “Dear Colleague” letter.

The Executive Summary of the Report stated the case:

The United States and the international community bear a responsibility to contribute to the alleviation of suffering and the advancement of stability and peace in Iraq. It was the consensus of our expert Advisory Group that there is little the United States can do to achieve those goals as long as it maintains an open-ended military presence in Iraq. In the context of withdrawal, however, there are many measures the United States and international community can take to maximize the chances for progress".

The Report developed twenty specific inititaves to: address the sources of conflict inside Iraq and their peaceful solution, improve the prospects for regional and international cooperation,reduce the potential for regional conflict, and enhance Iraqi security. In s preface to the Report Jim McGovern described as “Elegant in its brevity...” Or as he said to John Maher later, "Even a member of Congress can read it in a half hour.”

The response was more than the initiators had hoped. The Boston Globe, the New York Times, and The Nation picked it up, as did dozens of blogs. Panel presentations and briefings for congressional staff followed. On July 14, in "an op-ed in the New York Times withdrawal Barack Obama linked, as we did", to a “diplomatic offensive with nation in the region” and funds for a new international international effort to support Iraq’s refuges.” From left, right, and center the topic shifted from “is the surge working?” to “how to get out of Iraq.”[35]

El Salvador

Jim McGovern was in El Salvador in November 2009, for meetings with high ranking government officials.

Fred Ross award campaign

In early 2013, mainly Democratic Socialists of America aligned activists, together with many elected officials across the United States came together to urge President Barack Obama to award posthumously the Presidential Medal of Freedom to the legendary organizer, Fred Ross, Sr.. The Saul Alinsky trained radical was the first to organize people through house meetings, a mentor to both Cesar Chavez and DSAer Dolores Huerta, and a pioneer in Latino voter outreach since 1949 when he helped elect Communist Party USA affiliate Ed Roybal as Los Angeles’s first Latino council member, "Ross’ influence on social change movements remains strong two decades after his death in 1992".

PDA was the driving force in the passage of resolutions opposing the war in Iraq by eight state Democratic Party meetings. The organization also was instrumental in the passage of resolutions in 10 states calling for the impeachment of President Bush.

PDA is often referred to by Congressional Progressive Caucus Executive Director Bill Goold as the CPC’s field operation, because PDA has built relationships with members of Congress by delivering grassroots support for their initiatives – from Rep. John Conyers’ investigation of the 2004 Ohio voting fraud to Rep. Jim McGovern’s bill to cut off funding for the war in Iraq, a current priority effort.

While PDA is still only a progressive “pup” compared with big liberal dogs like MoveOn, PDA-backed candidates have taken some big bites out of conventional wisdom and centrist Democratic complacency. In Los Angeles, local PDA leader Marcy Winograd won 37 percent of the primary vote against entrenched pro-war Democrat Rep. Jane Harman with only two months of lead time. In Maryland, the dynamic Donna Edwards appears to have come only a few hundred votes short of toppling the multi-term Rep. Al Wynn in her first bid for public office, and she is seen as well-positioned to prevail in 2008. And in Illinois, with strong PDA support, Christine Cegelis, though outspent 8 to 1, nearly beat the candidate of the inside-the- Beltway Party leadership and Illinois party machine, Tammy Duckworth, to vie for the seat being vacated by Rep. Henry Hyde.

This fall, in the House, PDA is focusing attention and effort on several strong progressives worthy of note and support in hopes of flipping several seats from red to blue. In California, Jerry McNerney is running a strong race against an incumbent Republican. In Michigan, Tony Trupiano, with one of the nation’s strongest grassroots efforts, has his sights on an open seat in a Republican-leaning district. And in New York, anti-nuclear activist John Hall has won the Democratic nomination to challenge a four-term incumbent Republican. In Arizona, while the local PDA primary candidate, Jeff Latas, did not prevail, PDA will now enthusiastically join forces with PDA Board Member Rep. Raul Grijalva and support the nominee, the equally progressive Gabby Gifford, as well as PDA-backed Herb Paine, who won a razor-thin primary victory in a neighboring district.

Relationship with Tim Carpenter

“I considered Tim a dear and treasured friend,” U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern said in a telephone interview from his Washington, D.C., office Tuesday, April 29, 2014. “He was a passionate fighter for peace and justice and all causes that are good. He was a remarkable person with a spine of steel and heart of gold.”

Despite battling terminal melanoma, Carpenter kept up his busy work schedule as co-director of the Progressive Democrats of America. McGovern recalled spending time with Carpenter a couple months ago in Washington, where Carpenter was leading a conversation on alternative budgets and also lobbing senators and congressmen to cut the Pentagon’s budget, protect food stamps and more.

PDA will also benefit from some sympathetic newcomers in the 113th Congress. Out of the eight non-incumbent Democratic candidates the group endorsed in the past election cycle, three picked up seats. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) won the election to fill incoming Senator Tammy Baldwin’s former congressional seat in Wisconsin. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), the vocal anti-war critic and champion of financial reform returned to Congress after being swept away in 2010 . And arguably the most prominent of PDA-supported candidates, Elizabeth Warren, will represent Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate.

The remaining five PDA-endorsed candidates fell short in their efforts. Norman Solomon, a longtime environmental activist and the co-founder of the media watchdog group Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting, lost a close primary race in a very liberal district in northern California. Rob Zerban lost by more than 10 points to Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). PDA-backed candidates also lost in Illinois, Georgia and Virginia.[42]

In the 113th Congress , some PDA-backed Democrats planned to introduce pieces of legislation that enjoy widespread support among the American left—but will, in all likelihood, be met with stiff opposition. Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) said he would introduce a full employment act. Conyers will also again introduce a version of the so-called “Medicare-for-all” bill, which would create a single-payer universal healthcare system. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) said he would introduce a constitutional amendment to affirm that corporations are not people, in addition to supporting a bill that would strengthen the Voting Rights Act. McGovern, like other PDA allies in Congress, also said that defense cuts would be a priority, telling the audience to rousing applause, “If I had my way, I would shut down every U.S. military base in the Middle East right now.” Moreover, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) will introduce a bill, backed prominently by the National Nurses United union, to implement a tax on all financial transactions, the so-called Robin Hood tax.[44]

PDA 2018 endorsement

Coalition for Social Justice support

The Coalition for Social Justice and its educational fund, formerly known as the Coalition Against Poverty, has been actively building a powerful and effective grassroots movement in Fall River and New Bedford since 1994 and Brockton since 2003, and a Upper Cape Code electoral section since 2004...

After joining the successful campaign to stop the balanced budget amendment from passing in Congress, and playing a key role in the election of progressive Democrat Jim McGovern for Congress in the 10th District, CSJ turned its attention to working with the Coalition Against Poverty on a “Campaign for Working Families’ Agenda” for Massachusetts. . [46]

Supported Lifting the Gaza Blockade

On Jan. 27, 2010, U.S. Representatives Keith Ellison and Jim McDermott led 52 other members of Congress in signing a letter addressed to President Barack Obama, calling for him to use diplomatic pressure to resolve the blockade affecting Gaza. Jim McGovern was one of the signatories of the letter. [48] The entire letter together with a complete list of signatories can be read by clicking here.

Rep. Conyers (MI), chair of the Judiciary Committee, directed the Counsel of the Judiciary Committee to meet with the delegation. Also, Rep. Ellison (MN) and his Congressional staff met directly with the delegation for a significant amount of time. rep. Ellison sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, expressing concern over the situation and is continuing to work on options to support his constituents affected. The delegation also received face-to-face meetings with Rep Gutierrez and Rep Davis from Chicago. Rep. Grijalva’s (AZ) office set up a meeting between the delegation and the Executive Director of the Congressional Progressive Caucus in the Congress of which rep. Grijalva is the chair. In addition, the office of Jan Schakowsky (IL) and Maxine Waters (CA) gave the delegation significant time and attention.

“It was clear that progressive Representatives of the Congress are very concerned about the FBI investigation. Overall, they were very thankful for our visit and for the information and analysis given to them The level of awareness about the raids and grand jury was varied, from little to full awareness, but the delegation certainly changed that. After the two days, our presence and purpose definitely created a stir in the halls of Congress. “The fact that we were able to interact with 16 legislative aides or Congress people themselves, during an extremely busy time of restructuring leadership in the Congress, exemplifies the attention this matter is receiving”, stated Joe Iosbaker.[49]

ARA endorsement

"Budget for All"

November 6, 2012 - by a three to one margin, Massachusetts voters "sent a clear message to both Democrats and Republicans in Washington about the federal budget crisis and the impending "fiscal cliff"". The Budget for All ballot question passed by 661,033 to 222,514 votes. It calls for no cuts to Social Security, Medicare, or other vital programs; investment in useful jobs; an end to corporate tax loopholes and to the Bush cuts on taxes on high incomes; withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan now; and redirection of military spending to domestic needs and job creation. The question passed by a wide margin in every district and all 91 Massachusetts cities and towns where it appeared on the ballot, ranging from most of Greater Boston to Holyoke to Norwood, Lawrence and Fall River.

Fighting to remove Cuba from “terrorism sponsors” list

At the headquarters of the National Press Club in downtown Washington D.C., a consortium of organizations announced a new push to get Cuba taken off the State Department's "State Sponsors of Terrorism" list in early March 2013.

Congressman McGovern, who has followed U.S. Cuba policy closely, just got back from a visit to Cuba with a bipartisan delegation headed by Senator Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont. McGovern participated in a two hour meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro. He and the other speakers pushed for an overall change in U.S.-Cuba policy, of which removal of Cuba from the State Sponsors of Terrorism would be a useful first step.[53]

House calls for ending Afghanistan war

In a historic move June 13, 2013, the House of Representatives effectively said there is no congressional authorization for a permanent U.S. military presence in Afghanistan. The move was part of an overwhelmingly approved bipartisan measure calling for a complete and speedy end to the 12-year war there. For the first time, a majority of House Republicans supported the legislation.

In addition to calling for a speedy end to the war the measure specifically says that any decision to keep troops in Afghanistan beyond 2014 would require the permission of Congress.

The move, in the form of an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, was led by Reps. Jim McGovern, D-Mass.; Walter B. Jones, R-N.C.; Barbara Lee, D-Calif.; John Garamendi, D-Calif.; and Adam Smith, D-Wash. Smith is the leading Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee.

The measure, "to require the President to complete the accelerated transition of combat operations from U.S. Armed Forces to the Government of Afghanistan no later than by the end of 2013; the accelerated transition of military and security operations by the end of 2014, including the redeployment of U.S. troops; and to pursue robust negotiations to address Afghanistan's and the region's security and stability," passed by 305-121.

Over half the Republican House caucus voted for the measure, including six members from Texas, 11 from Florida and four of five from Kentucky. By contrast, in 2009 only seven House Republicans supported McGovern's amendment requiring the Pentagon to report to Congress on a strategy for U.S. military forces to leave Afghanistan by the end of that year.

Just nine Democrats opposed McGovern's latest amendment.

The vote is also seen as important because it is the first time the House of Representatives as a body has registered its opposition to the war.[54]

LIBERT-E Act

June 18, Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI), Chairman of the House Liberty Caucus, and Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), the Ranking Member on the House Judiciary Committee, announced the introduction of bipartisan legislation to address National Security Agency surveillance.

H.R. 2399, the Limiting Internet and Blanket Electronic Review of Telecommunications and Email Act (LIBERT-E Act), restricts the federal government’s ability under the Patriot Act to collect information on Americans who are not connected to an ongoing investigation. The bill also requires that secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court opinions be made available to Congress and summaries of the opinions be made available to the public.

A coalition of 32 Members of Congress joined Conyers and Amash in introducing the bill. After introduction, Conyers and Amash issued the following statement:

Lifting travel ban on Cuba

Due to your action/emails/phone calls we have 59 signatures from House representatives urging President Obama to support travel to Cuba by granting general licenses for ALL current categories of travel.

By eliminating the laborious license application process, especially for people-to-people groups, that is managed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the majority of the bureaucratic red tape that holds up licensable travel to Cuba would disappear and actually facilitate what the President wanted to see in 2011, liberalized travel regulations.

Congressional Letter for Neutrality, 2014 Salvadoran Elections

On Monday December 16, 2014 Reps. Juan Vargas (D-CA), Mike Honda (D-CA) and Mark Pocan (D-WI) sent a letter to Sec. of State John Kerry – signed by 51 Members of Congress – calling for a public statement of neutrality by the State Department before the first round of El Salvador’s presidential elections on February 2, 2014.

The letter, , highlighted several “important steps” that the current government has taken to “strengthen its democratic system and expand the right to vote to all citizens,” including those living outside of the country, who will be voting by absentee ballot for the first time in February. Since the election of Mauricio Funes, the first President from the Marxist Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) party, the government has increased the number of polling places four-fold to increase accessibility, especially in rural areas.

“We’re glad to see so many Members of Congress expressing respect for the right of the Salvadoran people to determine their own future. That’s an attitude that’s sorely lacking in much of the US’ policy in Central America, especially with regard to economic policy,” said Alexis Stoumbelis, Executive Director for the pro-communist Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES), in Washington, DC, which has observed every post-war election in El Salvador, starting in 1994.

IPS

Letter on Iran sanctions

The National Iranian American Council commended Rep. James Moran (D-VA) and "all twenty-one Members of Congress who sent a letter to President Obama April 4, 2014, supporting necessary action to ensure medicine and humanitarian goods are not unintentionally blocked for the Iranian people. NIAC strongly supported the letter and has consistently worked to raise awareness regarding the impact of sanctions on the Iranian people"...

The preliminary nuclear agreement brokered by the P5+1 and Iran included an agreement to establish a financial channel to facilitate humanitarian trade; however, medicine shortages have continued in part due to extensive financial sanctions on Iran and the reported unwillingness of banks to facilitate legal, humanitarian transactions.

A framework for action included a diverse set of initiatives, including immediate measures like collecting signatures for the Raise Up Massachusetts minimum wage and earned sick time ballot initiatives, as championed by Harris Gruman of the SEIU State Council, to medium-term measures like lobbying the six Massachusetts congressmen who voted NO to the Congressional Progressive Caucus’ Better Off Budget last week, as championed by Michael Kane, to more long-term initiatives like proposals to wipe out childhood poverty in Massachusetts, as championed by gubernatorial candidate Don Berwick.[62]

H.R. 1534, The Smarter Approach to Nuclear Expenditures Act

The 2015 Bill H.R. 1534 would reduce the number of nuclear-armed submarines operated by the Navy, to prohibit the development of a new long-range penetrating bomber aircraft, to prohibit the procurement of new intercontinental ballistic missiles.

2015 Cuba visit

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi traveled with a congressional congregation to Cuba mid February 2015.

The trip is the first official House delegation to travel to the island nation since President Barack Obama announced late last year an easing of trade restrictions with the Castro regime.

“This delegation travels to Cuba in friendship and to build upon the announcement of U.S. normalization of relations and other initiatives announced by President Obama,” Pelosi (D-Calif.) said. “This delegation will work to advance the U.S.-Cuba relationship and build on the work done by many in the Congress over the years, especially with respect to agriculture and trade.”

The delegates also met Cuban Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel, marking the first time Cuba's heir apparent to power has received an official American delegation.

Nancy Pelosi and the eight other House Democrats concluded their two-day visit by meeting Diaz-Canel, 54, who is first in line to the seat of power held by brothers Fidel Castro and Raul Castro since 1959.

The nine Democrats, all supporters of U.S. President Barack Obama's policy change on the Communist-led island, were due to be escorted directly to the airport after the meeting.

Diaz-Canel and the Americans talked about Cuba's market-style economic reforms, bilateral relations and prospects of the U.S. Congress lifting the country's 53-year-old trade embargo of Cuba, official Cuban media reported.[69]

COOL vote

August 2015, National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson called the recent vote in the U.S. House of Representatives to repeal Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL) a “disappointing, knee-jerk overreaction” and urged the U.S. Senate to continue its thoughtful handling of the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute. Johnson also noted that NFU will work with Congress on a clear path forward that will both resolve the WTO dispute and continue to provide consumers with accurate information about the origin of their food. “The House leadership is not interested in any reasonable solutions and blocked all amendments.” Johnson noted that in past disputes, WTO members found ways to work together to arrive at a resolution that worked for all parties. “Unfortunately, today’s action by the U.S. House of Representatives does not work towards a resolution that maintains the integrity of COOL and satisfies WTO obligations. “We call upon the U.S. Senate to avoid the rush to judgment demonstrated by the House today and work with COOL supporters on a viable alternative that will finally bring this long process to closure,” he said. Johnson said family farmers and ranchers across the country appreciated the work of: Reps. Collin Peterson, D-Minnesota; Rosa DeLauro, D-Connecticut; Jim McGovern, D-Massachusetts; Chellie Pingree, D-Maine; Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio; Rick Nolan, D-Minnesota; Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky; Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon; Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas; and others who stood strong for COOL and the right to know the origin of our food. “We greatly appreciate their continued willingness to stand up for America’s consumers and farm families,” said Johnson.[70]

Leahy has been one of the most active politicians inside the Capitol in advocating the improvement of US-Cuba relations, which defrosted somewhat in 2014 under Barack Obama after half a century of tension.[72]

Funding for Colombia

March 28, 2016 Washington, D.C. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-AL), and 14 of their House colleagues sent a letter to key House Appropriations Committee members asking them to fully fund President Barack Obama’s budget request for aid to Colombia.

Last month, President Obama announced a new aid package totaling $450 million for FY 2017 to assist the Colombian government in implementing a potential peace deal with the FARC guerillas after more than fifty years of violent conflict in the country. The funding would also support Colombia’s efforts to address security challenges including the threat of violent drug cartels.

“Now, just as the peace process is beginning to bear fruit, is not the time to reduce our financial assistance to our ally and partner,” the group wrote in a letter to Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX), chair of the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs, and Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY), who serves as the subcommittee’s ranking member. “After decades of equipping Colombia to fight, we have a vested interest in helping the Colombian people to rebuild. We must continue the robust, bipartisan support which, at long last, has brought Colombia to the precipice of peace.”

Mark Pocan’s Letter to the DHS on Colombian Paramilitaries

Representatives Mark Pocan, James McGovern, Barbara Lee, and Hank Johnson urge Congress members to consider actions that will allow Colombian Paramilitary leaders to be held accountable for their role in the Colombian Conflict and take on their role in the Colombian Peace Process. This letter urges for the removal of protectional classification of Colombian paramilitary leaders who have been detained in the US only for drug charges and instead urges for their return to Colombia. In Colombia, these paramilitary leaders are subject to serve charges of grave crimes including forced disappearances and murder in Colombia.[74]

Trip to India and Nepal

May 2017 Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi led a bipartisan Congressional delegation to India and Nepal focusing on strengthening bilateral economic and security relations, her office has said.

The delegation will also visit Germany and Belgium with an aim to focus on global economy, bilateral and multilateral relations and human rights.

Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, the first Indian-American woman to be elected to the US House of Representative, accompanyied Pelosi on Our bipartisan delegation travels at a vital time in the US relationship with India, Nepal and our NATO partners," said Pelosi, who is also former Speaker of the US House of Representatives.

"Our delegation looks forward to meetings on how we can strengthen our economic and security relationships, as well as addressing challenges ranging from regional Russian aggression to global human rights," Pelosi said in a statement, without giving the details of the trip. Other members of the Congressional delegation are Jim Sensenbrenner, Eliot Engel, Jim McGovern, Betty McCollum, Judy Chu and Joyce Beatty. [75]

Meeting with Kim Jong-hoon

Kim Jong-hoon, a member of South Korea’s National Assembly and co-chair of the progressive Minjung Party, led a delegation to Washington on March 20-21 2018 to appeal to U.S. lawmakers about supporting efforts for peace on the Korean Peninsula.

The U.S. Congress and Senate should not just watch Trump’s maneuvers from the sidelines but play an active role to make sure the talks succeed in achieving genuine and lasting peace, he wrote in The Hill. The Minjung Party was borne out of the candlelight revolution that unseated former President Park Geun-hye and is composed of workers, farmers and the urban poor.

In a meeting with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, Kim urged the senator to take the lead in building support for a successful summit:

No matter the motive for President Trump’s decision to meet with Kim Jong Un, dialogue is better than war. Military tension on the Korean peninsula had reached a feverish pitch last year, and real fear of impending war was shared by all Koreans, whether in the north or south. Leaders in Washington and the American people need to call on Trump to negotiate in good faith.

Senator Sanders expressed support for “peace talks between North Korea and the United States,” and the two lawmakers agreed to work together to facilitate dialogue between lawmakers of South Korea and the United States for a peaceful resolution of the U.S.-North Korea conflict.

Representative Kim also met with Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, who also expressed support for the upcoming North Korea-U.S. summit. “Dialogue is the best path to peace,” she said and discussed the false missile alert that had caused terror among residents of Hawaii earlier this year. The two lawmakers agreed that the people of Korea and Hawaii share a stake in resolving the current crisis peacefully. Congresswoman Gabbard said she will introduce a House resolution in support of the upcoming North Korea-U.S. summit.

Representative Kim also met with Congressman Jim McGovern and Congressman Dwight Evans, who both agreed to support the peace process in Korea.

Representative Kim also met with Reverend Jesse Jackson. The two leaders released a joint statement in support of the upcoming peace talks, and Reverend Jackson agreed to travel to South Korea in the near future to meet with members of the National Assembly and civil society organizations to discuss joint efforts for peace.

Representative Kim also met with peace activists in Washington and New York. He thanked them for their solidarity for peace in Korea. For the grandmothers fighting against the U.S. THAAD system in the village of Soseongri, he said, “Let us work together and redouble our efforts to establish a lasting peace system on the Korean Peninsula.”[78]

Letter on US-Mexico security Co-operation

Urgent alert from our friends at CISPES- Los Angeles Chapter : "The US plans to expand cooperation between Mexico and the United States to unfairly and inhumanely target Central American migrants and asylum seekers at the upcoming "Conference on Prosperity and Security in Central America".

We asked Representative Alan Lowenthal of Long Beach to author a letter to Secretary Tillerson calling for to put the human rights of Central Americans and all migrants and refugees front and center, and he's circulating a letter now. To have the biggest impact possible we need as many Members of Congress as possible to sign this letter!

Call or email your representative today and ask them to join Mr. Lowenthal as a co-signer.

Representative Alan Lowenthal (D-CA) led 37 Members of Congress, including top Democrats from the Armed Forces, Judiciary and Appropriations committees, in sending a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to raise red flags about “suggestions that the United States deepen security collaboration with Mexico along its southern border [with Guatemala] due to evidence that Mexico’s Southern Border Program has led to wide-spread human rights violations and abuses against migrants and asylum-seekers.”